Performance Bicycle Affiliate Program

Performance Bicycle is where I purchased my current bike. In typical fashion, I spent five hundred dollars, rode it twice, and it has been sitting in the corner ever since. Unfortunately, I can’t blame in the bike shop for me not using the bike. What drew me to Performance Bicycle in the first place is they were one of the few shops that didn’t try to shame me for wanting to spend a mere five hundred dollars on a bike. When searching for a bicycle, I got the impression that biking was a far more snobby sport than I ever realized. The point is I liked Performance Bicycle, and they offer a solid affiliate program for people looking to promote bikes.

How To Join The Performance Bicycle Affiliate Program

You can join the Performance Bicycle Affiliate Program through either Avantlink or Commission Junction.

Personally, I would pick Avantlink because I think CJ is a pretty crappy network coasting on a brand name that was established years ago.

How Much Does The Performance Bicycle Affiliate Program Pay?

In both CJ and Avantlink, the base commission rate is 3% with a 30 day tracking cookie. Honestly, this is an uninspiring rate. If you can’t beat Amazon’s 4% base rate, you probably shouldn’t have an affiliate program in the first place. The good news is the promotional page for the Performance Bike Affiliate Program mentions rates up to 6%. There aren’t tiers or performance incentives to receive this higher rate. If you think your site is worthy to earn the better commission rate, you will need to email the affiliate manager. It’s at his discretion.

The current 3 month EPC (earnings per 100 clicks) is $16.94. The 7 day EPC is $21.65. These numbers aren’t horrible, but if I was going full force towards a project, I would like to earn more than 17 cents a click. CJ indicates the program has a 4 bar network earnings status. This indicates that a lot of volume passes through the program. 5 bars is the highest earnings level.

Sales volume is also at the 4 bar level in Avantlink. The AOV is an impressive $509.31. Unfortunately, the low commission rate means the average sale only earns a commission of $15. The conversion rate is listed at slightly over 2%. I would consider this pretty average for a program that isn’t laden with coupon and loyalty sites. Coupon and loyalty sites tend to skew conversion percentages higher since they represent the very end of the sales funnel.

Who Manages The Program?

The program appears to be managed in-house on the surface. This is because the contact email is listed as affiliates@performanceinc.com. The reality is the listed affiliate manager, Brian Clark, works for an OPM called eAccountable based out of Colorado. When I emailed the contact address, I received a prompt reply from Jason Waring at eAccountable.

Company Background

Performance Bicycle was started in 1982. Home base is Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Catalog sales were the bread and butter back in the day, so migrating to ecommerce should have been a logical transition. They now operate more than 100 brick and mortar stores in over 20 states. Here is map of states with stores:

I like the idea of maintaining a brick and mortar presence in combination with ecommerce for a product as finicky and expensive to ship as a bicycle. You can find more contact information here.

What Are Some Alternative Affiliate Programs?

Amazon stands out as the most logical alternative affiliate program. Their base rate is 4% and increases all the way to 8.5% with enough volume. I suspect Performance would counter by saying Amazon doesn’t have a brick and mortar presence and having a well assembled bike can make all the difference in the world. This is all true, but Amazon sure is cheap and their customer service sure is friendly and forgiving. Performance is also likely to sell bikes that Amazon does not stock.

Jenson USA is a more similar alternative. They offer a 5% base rate and tout an EPC over $80. This means the average affiliate is making almost 4x as much with the Jenson Affiliate Program.

Viglink – say you really like the Performance Bike program, but you don’t think the affiliate manager would see your vision and give you the higher 6% commission rate. You could always register for the program as a sub-affiliate under the Viglink umbrella. They are at the higher 6% rate. They offer a 75% / 25% split, meaning your actual rate is 4.5%. This is slightly lower than some competitors, but higher than the base Amazon rate at least. Also, Performance Bicycle has an established brand with over 100 brick and mortar stores. a 4.5% commission rate beats a 5% commission rate any day if the site converts better.